The German government provided a $250m finance to support Egypt’s economic reform programme and support the state budget, and the government of Egypt is free to determine the aspects of spending the money, according to German Ambassador to Cairo Julius Georg Luy.

Luy said that this finance may be extended for an additional year if certain conditions are provided by the Egyptian government, the most important of which is the strengthening of the infrastructure in Egypt.

Luy added that there is great interest from German investors to invest in the Egyptian market, and the biggest evidence is the visit of Germany’s federal minister for economic cooperation and development, Gerd Müller, which is happening Monday.

Luy noted that the German embassy is following up on the issuance of the new investment law regulation, praising that the Egyptian government’s efforts to promote investment climate and overcoming all the obstacles facing investors, which are present in the bureaucracy and lack of coordination between the different government agencies in regard to issuing licenses to start medium-size projects.

“German investors are following with great interest the efforts and initiatives taken by the Egyptian government to improve the legislative and administrative structure to foreign investors in Egypt,” added Luy. “Egyptian Minister of Investment Sahar Nasr is working to find solutions to those obstacles, including the one-stop shop system to eliminate the fears of investors to launch new business in the Egyptian market.”

Trade between Egypt and Germany rose 14% from January to July, recording €3.6bn, according to data from the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

The volume of trade between the two currencies is approximately €6bn, a growth rate of 30% compared to the past two years, while German companies contributed to the availability of 22,000 jobs in the Egyptian market.

The official development cooperation with Egypt (loans, grants, finance, and techinical support) amounted to €1.7bn. It contributes to enhancing stability in Egypt by covering basic needs. Furthermore, the development cooperation also focuses on renewable energies, water, solid waste management, and technical education.

With regard to German tourism to Egypt, Luy said that the number of German tourists increased by 85% compared to last year, recording 720,000 tourists by the end of September.

The Egyptian government has contributed significantly to the recovery of German tourism in Egypt by paying attention to the requirements of the German tourist, according to Luy.

In a related context, Luy revealed that one of the important agreements was the signing of the additional protocol to the cultural agreement between Egypt and Germany for the restoration of the work of German institutions in Egypt.

Luy pointed out that these institutions expressed their deep desire to restore their work in Egypt after suspension.